Slat-fence machine.



J. M. DENNING.

SLAT FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1907.

9 13,008 Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. M. DENNING.

SLAT FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1-1, 1907 943,008,, Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

- 4SHBETS-SHEET Z,

J. M. DENNING.

' SLAT FENGE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT 3.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

J. M. DENNINGQ SLAT FENCE MACHINE APPLICATION FILED SEPfl'. 11 1907.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

z %& \$1 V two principal sections, A and B, respeciinrrirn sirarns Partner @FFTQE JOSEPH M. nnnnrne, or

SLAT-FENGE Application filed September 11, 1907.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosnPI-I M. DENMNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slat-Fence Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of that kind of fence in which vertical slats or pickets are held in position by longitudinal wires twisted or looped about them; and the object of the invention is to provide a machine adapted to produce this sort of fencing rapidly, perfectly, and almost automatically.

The nature of the invention is fully disclosed in the description and claims following, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the principal working parts of the machine lying to the right of the line aZJ of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the parts at the right of the line c(Z. Fig. at is a side view of the staging on which the slats are delivered preparatory to being used in the fence. Fig. is a fragmentary de tail in perspective, showing the construction of the press which compresses the loop of wire about the slat. Fig. 6 is a similar view of an automatic throw-01f for the main driving clutch. F 7 shows details of a slat-starter. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section, showing the construction and mounting of the wire twister. F 9 is a view from the rear, showing the friction clutch wh ch drives the reel. Fig. is a sectional view of the main driving clutch.

The main frame of the machine comprises tively. The former is the receiving part of the machine for the slats, and carries most of the actuating mechanism. The latter section receives the longitudinal strands of wire, and it is on this part of the machine that the fence is finished and reeled up. The various parts of the frame will, as they are hereafter referred to, be desgnated by numerals. The slats (wooden strips like heavy lath) are delivered to a rack or staging C at the rear of the frame A, and an attendant, standing at the right end of the machine, as shown in F ig. 1, delivers them to an endless carrier which intermittently feeds them to Specification of Letters Patent.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

MACHINE.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909 Serial No. 392,367.

the machine, as described hereafter. The slats are designated by the letter I). The strand wires come in at the other end of the other section of the machine, as will be described presently, and are designated by the letter Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the construc tion of the fence is clearly shown. A series of strand wires are conducted to the machine around sheaves 1, (not shown in F 1) from parent coils of wire, also not shown. These strands are in pairs, as will be seen, and pass through holes 2 in twister-heads 3 mounted in bearings 4 and 5 secured to crossbeams 6 and 7 of the main frame. The twister is best shown in Fig. 8. The wires enter through grooves 8 in the twister spindle 9, and outside of this part of the spindle is a sleeve 10 turning in the bearing 5. To this end of the spindle is secured the driving pinion 11, to which a reciprocating rotation is imparted. by a rack 12 mounted in' guides 13, and linked at 14: to an arm 15 pivoted at 16 to a cross-beam 17. This arm engages a cam 18 by a roller 19, and has an intermittent movement back and forth suitably timed with respect to the other operations. The head of the twister is forked, as shown in Fig. 8, the gap 20 being large enough to receive any slat delivered to it from the slat side of the machine. The slots 21 in the twister head are to make shorter holes for the small drills used in drilling for the strand wires.

Adjacent to each twister is a pusher or plunger 22, with a forked head 23 to receive the slat in the same manner as the twisterhead. The shaft of the plunger is mounted in guides 2% and 24*, which latter may be integral with the rack-guides 13 above referred to. An intermittent reciprocating movement is given to the plungers by levers 25 pivoted in bearings 26 by a rock-shaft 27, the bearings being secured to a cross-beam 28. The levers are preferably bifurcated and straddle the plungers at the upper ends, where they pass between rollers 29 mounted on studs 30 suitably secured to the plungers. The short arm of each lever is provided with a roller 31, engaged by a cam 32 on a regularly rotating shaft 33, the driving gear of which will be described later. These cams are so timed as to act on the lever immediately after the slat has been fed to its proper position in the fence. The strand-wires be ing twisted together in advance of it, the

pushing forward of the slat also draws out more wire, and immediately following this operation the twisters turn in one direction or the other, interlocking the wires, as shown.

A little way in front of the twisters (considered with respect to the movement of the fence) is a press adapted to grip the upcurved portions of wire passing around each slat and press them down flat, to give a more finished appearance to the fence, and in some measure to embed the wire into the slat and prevent its slipping. The press also holds the fence against any back-lash, and for this purpose is timed to act simultaneously with the twisters, so that the strands are drawn forward while the twist is made. The press is very simple. It comprises a top-bar or bridge 3 1 secured at each end to the main frame. Below this is mounted a movable press-bar sliding a limited distance on guides 36, also secured to each side of the main frame B. In practice this bar is provided with a series of press-blocks 37 corresponding with each pair of strand wires. Near each end is an elastic link, having a male portion 38, a female part 39, and an interposed coil spring 40. One part is coupled to the press-bar, and the other to a lever (one for each) 41 mounted on a rockshaft 12 journaled in bearings 4-3. The free end of each lever has a roller 14, and on the shaft 33 are cams 45 to engage these rollers. In practice gravity is aided by a spring 16 to restore the press-bar to idle position.

The finished fence is fed forward until enough has been formed to reach the reel 47, when it is connected thereto, and is thereafter rolled up thereon, as shown. The reel driver shaft 48 is provided with a sprocket 49 communicating by a chain 50 with a smaller sprocket 51 on a shaft 52. This shaft is provided with a pulley 53 having a friction clutch 54, of a familiar type, and is in practice driven independently of the other mechanism of the machine. The tension of the clutchv is controlled by a gravity device shown in Fig. 9. One end of the clutchlever 55 is linked at 56 to the machine frame. The other end connects with a bell'crank lever 57 pivoted to a foot-block 58. The free end of the bell-crank is provided with an adjustable weight 59.. This provides sufficient tension to roll the fence up neatly on the reel, but slips of course as the roll enlarges and mustalso slip in the intervals while the fence is held against forward movement.

Considering now the other half of the machine, the slats as handled by the operator are moved forward from their receiving rack or staging and laid, more or less closely, on carrier chains 60 provided with flights 61 at intervals. The inner ends of the slats are abutted againstan end-stop 62, and in this position are moved forward intermittently by the carrier chains. These pass over sprockets 63 on shafts 641:, 65, 66 and 67, respectively, the latter being a tightener shaft mounted in a bail 68, and provided with adjusting bars 69 slotted to take up the stretch in the chains. At the outer end of the shaft 6 1 is a pulley 7 0 communicating by a belt 71 with a larger .pul-ley 72 on the shaft 33. This belt is normally slack enough so that a brake 73 on the shaft will hold the carrier normally, and stop its motion almost in stantly. The belt 71 is brought into action intermittently, and at each revolution of the shaft 33, by a belt-tightener, which may be of the simple construction best shown in Fig. 2. On an arm 74 is mounted an idle pulley 75. The arm is adapted to rock in a bearing 76, and is linked to a similar arm 77 provided with a roller 78 to engage a cam 79 mounted on the shaft 33. For a short interval during each revolution of the latter shaft the tightener is in action, and the carrier moves forward, with its load of slats. The headmost slat passes under guiding fingers 80 and against stops 81, and is then in position to be gripped by a pair of rapidly revolving feed rolls 82. These are normally separated to admit the slat, but at the proper moment are closed upon it, and pass it rapidly to another pair of similar roll-s 83 in the other section of the machine. As the slat feed acts by friction it does not matter whether there be one or several slats carried forward at a time, since the feed will stop as soon as the foremost slat strikes its stops.

In the construction of the machine it is not convenient to gear'the first pair of feedrolls together. The lower roll is accordingly mounted on a shaft 8 1, one bearing, 85, of which is pivoted in a bracket 86 attached to a cross-beam 87. The other bearing 88 is attached to an elastic link composed of a male member 89, a female part 90 and an interposed spring 91. The other end of this link is attached to a lever 92 on a rock-shaft 93. Its free end is provided with a roller 94, and this engages a cam 95 on the main shaft 33. A'spring 96 assists gravity in separating the rolls, as already specified in con-- nection with another part of the machine (see Fig. 2). In the case of extra thick slats, or slats broken or decayed at the end, it sometimes happens that this first pair of feed rolls will fail to start the slat. In Figs. 1 and 7 is shown a positive starting device designed to prevent this difliculty, and perhaps entirely dispense with the starting rolls. It consists of an arm 97 with a flat head 98 adapted to strike the outer end of the slat when in position to move endwise. This arm is attached to a rock-shaft 99pivoted in bearings 100 attached to the frame A. Ashort arm 101 engages a cam 102 at eaaoos the outer end of the shaft 33, and a spring 103 serves to retract the arm. At each revolution of the shaft 33, and at the proper time, the cam forces the sweep-arm 97 against the end of the slat and drives it positively forward.

The main feed-rolls for the slats are mounted in the other section of the machine, B, on shafts 104- mounted in suitable bearings 105 and 100, the latter of which is movable, and is forced upwardly, toward the interposed slat, by a spring 107 between the bearing and a bracket 108 attached to the cross-beam 6, which is slotted at 110 to allow for the movement of the shaft. he shafts are geared together by pinions 111, so that as soon as the slat reaches these rolls it is driven positively to its final position, unless deflected out of its true course by crookedness, or otherwise.

The feed-rolls are driven at high speed through the medium of bevel gearing 112, .113 and 11%, and a main driving pulley 115 on a shaft 110, transmitting motion from the pulley to the said gearing. Referring to Fig. 10 it will be seen that this shaft is in two partsabutting in the hub of a pinion 117 secured to the part 110. The other part of the shaft turns freely in said hub, eX- cept when clutched thereto. This part of the hub forms half of a clutch, and on the splined shaft 110 is mounted a sliding clutch-sleeve 11S, grooved to take a fork 115), in the nature of a bell-crank. This is pivoted on a suitable bracket 120, and connects by a link 121 with hand-lever 122, by which the clutch may be thrown in or out at will.

The pinion 117 meshes with a large gear 123, to which the cam 18 is secured, and accordingly the twisters are intermittently rotated at. intervals considerably slower than the revolutions of the main driving pulley. The shaft 33 is driven at the same speed as this large gear, by miter gears 12 t. The cam-gear is attached to a shaft 125 mounted in bearings 126 secured to cross-beams 127 and 128.

Crooked or otherwise imperfect slats will sometimes fail to feed between the strand wires to their proper final position. In such a case, if the machine is not stopped, the slat is looped or woven into the fence, but in the wrong position, and it is a matter of some difficulty to loosen up the wires, slip the slat to the right place and secure it there. stopping the machine automatically in case the slat does not feed to such final position. This device is best shown in Fig. 6, and is described as follows: 129 is an elastic stop for the end of the slat, comprising an abutment plate with a spindle mounted in a bearing 130 (see Fig. 1). Between the bearing and the plate is a coil spring 131. This Provision is accordingly made for,

takes the impact of the slat as it is driven rapidly forward by the feed rolls, and in its recoil brings the slat to the right position endwise. Just before reaching this stopplate the end of the slat passes under one 73 ar of a bell-crank lever pivoted in a bearing 133, which arm may be provided with a small roller 184.. The longer, depending arm of the bell-crank has a foot 135, and in the path of this foot hangs a pendulum arm 136 suspended from a bellcrank lever 13?, the other arm of which communicates by a connecting-rod 138 with the main clutch-lever 110. At the lower end the pendulum has a projecting toe 139, which is normally in the path of a lever 1 10 pivoted at l i-1. The free end of this lever has a roller 141-2 actuated by a cam 1453 on the shaft- A spring 141 moves the lever in the opposite direction, and the lever is accordingly reciprocated at each revolution of the shaft With each such revolution a new slat is supposed to be in position to be woven into the fence. If the slat takes the proper position against the stop-plate it is evident that the pendulum is pushed back so that its tee is out of the path of the reciprocating lever 110, and the action of the machine is not interrupted. But if the slat fails to reach this position the pendulum is not pushed back. It is then caught by the lever 110 in its down stroke, and through its connection with the main clutch said clutch is liberated, and the machine stops instantly. The operator may then a dj netthe slatto proper position, throw in the clutch by the hand lever, and give his whole attention to supplying the feed-belt of the machine with slats.

The action of the machine may be briefly recapitulated as follows: Strand-wires are supplied to some or all of the twisters, a pair of wires to each, passed through them, and the separate pairs twisted together. 1'1 slat is then inserted, either by hand, or by turning the machine, the slat passing between the jaws of the twisters and the fenceadvancing pushers, much as a shuttle passes between the warp threads in a loom. As suming the belt feed to be supplied with slats, the machine may now be started by throwing in the clutch. The arrangement and timing of cams is such that the first action of the machine will be to thrust forward the pushers or plungers, advancing the previously inserted slat one space. Here. it is caught by the press, while the twisters are revolved in one direction. During a pause in its revolution, and after the plungers have retreated, a slat is advanced by 2 the belt-feed, caught by the slat-starter and feed-rolls, and shot rapidly into weaving position. This in turn is advanced by the plungers, the press again operates, and the twisters turn in the opposite direction. 1

hen enough finished fence has been made 1 to reach, it is attached to the reel, whereupon the whole operation of the machine becomes automatic excepting the supplying of the feed-belts with slats and the occasional connecting in of a new strand wire. When enough is on the reel the fence web is cut, the roll of fence taken off the reel, the reel again replaced and the severed web attached thereto. Should any of the slats miss in their course through the twisterheads, the machine stops automatically, as fully described above.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a fence machine adapted to intermittently unite separate pairs of strand} wires, feed-rolls adapted to carry slats endwise between said strand-wires and crosswise thereof, starting rolls adapted to open intermittently to receive a slat laterally, and a slat carrier adapted to feed slats sidewise between said opened rolls.

2. In a fence machine adaptedto intermittently unite separate pairs of strand- .wires, feed-rolls adapted to carry slats endwise across said strand wires and between the separated pairs, a carrier adapted to bring slats successively in alinement with said feedrolls, and an intermittent sweep adapted to force the slat endwise between the feed-rolls.

3. In a fence machine adapted to intermittently unite separate pairs of strandwires, feed-rolls adapted to carry slats to interweaving position between said strandwires, and a slat-carrier to bring the slats into successive alinement with said feedrolls, comprising a pair of sprocket chains with flights thereon, driving and carrying sprockets for said chains, frictional driving mechanism to transmit motion to the driving sprockets, and means for intermittently actuating the friction drive.

4. Combined with the slat-carrier of a slat fence machine, a pair of driving pulleys,

a belt therefor, a tightener for said belt, a

rotating cam, and mechanism connecting said cam with the t-ightener.

5. Combined with the driving pulley and engaging clutch of a slat fence machine, feed-rolls adapted to carry the slats to weaving position, mechanism adapted to automatically break the clutch engagement except when the slat is carried to proper position, and an intercepting member near the end of the slats movement adapted to be deflected by the end of the slat and prevent the breaking of the clutch engagement.

'6. In a fence machine having a clutch-engaged driving pulley and feed-rolls for slats, substantially as described, a clutch-releasing device comprising a reciprocating arm, a cam to actuate the same, a clutch opening lever, and a member connecting therewith and normally lying in the path of said reciprocating arm, and a release-preventing device adapted to move the clutch-opening member out of the path of the reciprocating arm, said lever being tilted or tripped by the slat when almost in final position.

7. In a fence machine having a clutch engaged driving pulley and slat-feeding mechanism, substantially as described, a bellcrank lever with a rod connecting it with the clutch, a pendulum arm depending from one arm of said lever and having a toe or projection near its lower end, a lever adapted to reciprocate into engagement with said toe, and a tilting lever, one arm of which is adapted to push the pendulum aside, and

the other arm lying in the path of the slat and near the limit of its movement, whereby the clutch connection is broken if the slat does not reach final position, but not otherwlse.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH M. DENNING. \Vitnesses J. J. CLEMENTs, J. M. ST. JOHN. 

